Merry Anniversary!

 We took a quick trip down to Savannah at the end of Decemeber and enjoyed our short time there so much.   I still cannot believe we were celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary - where is time going??  The old adages of "the older I get, the faster time goes" or "time flies when you're having fun" are totally cheesy, but they really are so true!   I swear I'm going to blink and we'll be retired with 8 grandkids.  Not really....but sort of.

We stayed in a historic hotel called The Planters Inn, strolled through the squares, dropped in and out of stores and up River Street (clearly for a praline). 

We ate some fantastic food....dinner at Local 11Ten (where I had my first ever chicken livers...I was so nervous because it sounds disgusting, however, they were actually pretty tasty), and then a lovely lunch at Soho South Cafe.  Even though it was late December, the weather was gorgeous so we were able to sit on the sidewalk patio for lunch and enjoy being outside.  I'm proud that Georgia has such a beautiful and historic city like Savannah - it was the perfect getaway!

52 Pix - Week 52

Wow....my 52nd weekly photo.  Finally.  :)

This picture came from our trip to Savannah for our anniversary (more pics from this trip later).  We had been to this historic city before, but both felt we hadn't appreciated it nearly as much as we did this time.  The sights really are so beautiful - we loved walking through the squares and seeing so many people out and about.  This picture above was of a large church - the way the sun burst out from the trees and steeple made such a stunning image.  A beautiful picture to end this year long project!

Sing, Choirs of Angels

Last month my friend, Emily, asked me what my favorite Christmas song was.....I thought about it and was overwhelmed with the thought - how can you choose?   O Holy Night has always been a favorite carol...the words describing the story of Jesus birth, the dramatic "fall on your knees" part, the fact that we had this song in our wedding....all in all, it's a true classic.  BUT, as the season continued and I heard more Christmas music than I thought possible....it was clear.  I love O Come All Ye Faithful.  There is something about this song's joyful invitation to sing, come & adore....something about the imagery of a choir of angels singing....something about this being the song they sing in that Christmas Brady Bunch special where Mike Brady gets stuck in the collapsed building and he reappears after the crowd sings this accapella (clearly lead by Carol Brady)....something about it makes it my favorite.  :)

Other favorites from Christmas....

 Baking and decorating cookies with my nieces and my mom!  Mom started this tradition last year with the girls...Hadley gave me the invite this year and I hope we can make it a Williams girls tradition.

Getting to spend extra time with our family....especially the little ones!  They are changing so much.  Hadley has turned into a bonafide little girl with her heels and make-up bag.  Reese is just hilarious.  Hudson...well, he doesn't quite know what to think quite yet...

 Our Christmas Day bonfire with the Scott's....one of my favorite traditions! 

 Our new stockings...hung by the chimney with care.  I love ours on the left, but I think I love Mulligan's most.   We had a "skinny" tree this year!

What a wonderful Christmas vacation!  It comes and goes in a hurry....unless you're enrolled at Emory, of course.  It is truly the gift that keeps on giving....

52 Pix - Week 51

The week before Christmas we had our small group gathering at Alex & Cassie's house.  Between all the travel, family events, weddings, Christmas parties - December was a whirlwind!  It was so nice to get back together with our group, enjoy a meal and of course...take a crazy troll picture.  This took a few tries (but I think fewer than last year)....unfortunately the one where we all turned upright in unison, is the one where a certain goof's turtleneck joined in on the flip.  :)  Community is such an important part of our lives - one of the many things we were thankful for over the holidays!